Air Premia Posts First Quarterly Profit... Operating Income of 21.7 Billion Won

Operating Profit Margin 16.7%

Hybrid airline Air Premia announced on the 30th that it achieved its first-ever quarterly profit in the third quarter of this year. The company attributed this to increased demand for international passenger flights and its cargo business.

Air Premia recorded sales of 129.6 billion KRW and an operating profit of 21.7 billion KRW in the third quarter, achieving its best performance since its founding. The operating profit margin was 16.7%. The cumulative sales and operating profit from the first to the third quarter were 256.1 billion KRW and 15.3 billion KRW, respectively. Despite variables such as global oil prices and exchange rate fluctuations, the company explained that the possibility of achieving annual sales of 360 billion KRW and an annual operating profit for the first time is increasing.

The reason for quickly achieving operating profit is attributed to a business model that provides essential services at reasonable prices. The synergy between the highly profitable medium- to long-distance passenger business and the stable cargo business also contributed. The company transported a total of 479,492 passengers through regular routes such as LA, New York, and Frankfurt, as well as charter flights to Barcelona and Oslo, recording an average load factor of 86.3%. On routes to the Americas, including LA and New York, it transported a total of 158,519 passengers, accounting for 33.1% of all passengers.

Regarding the cargo business, Air Premia analyzed that transporting 21,653 tons of cargo by the third quarter this year positively influenced rapid growth, generating sales of 27.6 billion KRW, which accounts for 10.8% of total sales.

In the second half of this year, the company began irregular flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, and plans to operate more than seven aircraft in total by securing two B787-9 planes next year.

Park Kwang-eun, Head of Strategy and Finance at Air Premia, said, “Based on stable performance in the Americas routes and cargo business, we achieved our best results in the third quarter. We will continue to strive for annual operating profit in the fourth quarter through efficient route management.”